The invention in a first aspect relates to a method for transferring fluids between a first vessel and a second vessel.
A main field of application of such a method is the offshore production of oil and gas. The first vessel, for example, may comprise a so-called FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel) from which oil or gas, such as liquefied natural gas, has to be transferred to a tanker. A known method uses a floating fluid transfer hose connecting the first vessel with the second vessel. A disadvantage of such a method is that its use is limited to circumstances with moderate sea states (significant wave heights up to 2-3 meters). For higher sea states forces generated by the floating fluid transfer hose reach a level exceeding design values of a hose handling system of the tanker. Such a tanker generally is equipped with a midship manifold to which the fluid transfer hose has to be connected and such a manifold cannot cope with forces generated by the fluid transfer hose at high sea states. When one desires to transfer fluids at such extreme conditions, specially designed (or “dedicated”) vessels (such as dedicated tankers) are used as second vessel, which for example may be provided with a bow loading station specially designed for receiving the fluid transfer hose and capable of withstanding the increased forces generated at high sea states.